The West Wing The Right Wing
by Merai
Summary: What if Vinick had won the last election in The West Wing? How would he have dealt with being the President? Would any regulars have stuck around for his administration? What would become of Jed Bartlet or Matt Santos? This FanFiction has the answers!


Disclaimer: I don't own the West Wing, MSNBC or any of the characters within. Or Alan Alda. Unfortunately.

I had this idea because I actually felt Vinick performed as a better candidate throughout series 7 of the West Wing, despite writer attempts to make his character look bad. I loved the character created in Vinick and I would have been interested to see the regulars deal with a _Republican_ administration. Look for characters to stick around though- some within the Vinick administration (He _was_ a moderate Republican) and others in outside roles. Who will stay? Who will go? Who will come back? You better keep reading, cos I ain't saying! Hope you enjoy- and feedback always MUCH appreciated!

It was 5:40 AM on November 8th and former Californian Senator- and current Republican Presidential Candidate- Arnold Vinick sat on the couch of his suite in the hotel that was acting as temporary quarters in the "Victory for Vinick" Presidential campaign. He did not speak, arms folded, chin jut forwards, mind deep in thought. To one side of him on the couch sat his trusted confidante and former Campaign Manager Sheila- she had resigned after the nuclear accident at the San Andreo Power Plant which Vinick had supported destroyed his enormous polling lead and brought things neck and neck. The accident had not been her fault of course, and she had done nothing wrong, but her resignation had been needed purely as a symbol.

Standing up near her was Jane, Sheila's replacement. A very public figure, deep in the right wing base, Vinick and most of his staff disliked her immensely but she had been necessary for persuading the conservative Republican base to turn out and vote the moderate Vinick. To Vinick's other side was Bob, another instrumental member of the Vinick campaign. Bob had been there with Sheila since the very start, and his messy beard and thick glasses hid a shrewd mind. Finally, pacing behind the sofa was Bruno. Bruno was the political expert who had gotten them were they were; normally a Democratic consultant and instrumental in President Bartlet's last victory, Bruno had come aboard when they beat Reverend Butler and got the Republican nomination, and he had loyally stood by them ever since. Sarcastic, soft-spoken and with an attitude- and a self admitted left winger, Vinick knew that if they won this day there would be no-one to thank more than Bruno.He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. It had been, he reflected, a very long road.

He remembered way back when Josh Lyman- now campaign manager for his Democratic opponent Matthew Santos- had come to him from the Whitehouse, asking from the president if he would be the next United States UN ambassador. The answer had been no- and he had revealed to Josh that he would run. The next day was so clear in his mind, his words would stay with him until his dying day- "Help me bring the promise and the opportunity back to America!" he had cried. Vinick ran a hand through his hair- it seemed like so long ago now. He remembered Iowa- home of the corn growers. There he, unlike all the other candidates, had stood up against ethanol subsidies. The candidates knew them to be bad but the people of Iowa loved them, and so the candidates had pandered. But not Vinick. He had stood his ground and told them what they didn't want to hear. At the time, he had been slaughtered by the Iowa press, and in the primary- but it got him national attention. Iowa, he reflected ironically, had voted for him this night.

The run up in the primaries, as Republican after Republican, from Allard to Walker, had dropped out. The sudden realization- he could win this thing! The final caucus, where Vinick had beaten Reverand Butler and locked up the Republican nomination. It had been then, he remembered, that Sheila had brought Bruno in, to let him hear the other side. He had been trying to select a VP, considering Butler, and then Bruno had come in. Vinick remembered Bruno's words too- how could he forget? It was those words which had finally, fully and irrevocably convinced him to win this election. Those words echoed in his head now, the reason why a Democrat would support a Republican candidate and run his campaign.

_"You're in a unique position to run a completely positive campaign because most of the country agrees with you on most of the issues. They don't know it yet, but you are the best thing that ever happened to the Democrats. You are making politics a fair fight again. You're not calling them bad. You're not insulting their position. You're just saying that your approach is better._ _You do this right, you can do a lot more than win. You can stop using politics to divide this country. You can show us how much we agree, instead of how much we disagree. You can put this country back together."_

Bruno had offered to run a campaign to win all fifty states. And they had been close too- oh yes, so close. Victory had been in their grasp, leading all the polls, all the way through election season. 9 points up before the debate, a debate which had been a tie. Victory for Vinick had seemed inevitable. And then…. San Andreo. The nuclear accident. And suddenly it was 44-44, and they had themselves a ball game. This night was the most important of Vinick's entire life, and it had come by in a crawl.

It had been declared in the early hours of the morning- the Republicans would retain the Senate, but they'd lost the House. They needed a Presidential victory. Then Santos had won Texas. Vinick had been convinced he would lose his home state of California and then it would be over, but he had carried it by eighty thousand votes. Two states were left; Oregon and Nevada. At 4 AM, Santos had won Oregon.

And that brought them to where they were now. Vinick stared at the television, not really listening. Nevada. It all came down to Nevada, and it's 5 electoral votes. Ironic really, he thought bitterly- they had gutted their Nada campaign to focus on California, and he had won that by so many votes it was clearly a waste to have campaigned there at all. Santos had 267 electoral votes, Vinick had 266, and 270 was the quota needed to win. If nothing else, he reflected, it was the closest election in memory. Even if he lost, he supposed he could take some solace in that fact. Time ticked on- they had to call Nevada soon. The waiting was an agony. He wrung his hands, distracted. Leo McGarry, Santos' VP candidate, had died earlier in the night. A selfish part of him wished it had happened earlier so it would alter the election results, but he brushed that aside; Leo was a good man and an old friend.

Sheila spoke up at last, breaking the long silence. She reassured him that they had lawyers to demand a recount if they lost. Vinick tuned out, barely even listening. "No." he replied simply. Bruno began to speak, but he dismissed him, more strongly. "No." Sheila sighed and looked at him, clearly concerned. "This isn't a frivolous lawsuit you've been speaking against," she explained slowly. Vinick waved a hand- didn't she get the message?

"That's right!" he began, but she pressed on before he could continue.

"This is just making sure that the right person won the election." Jane looked on incredulously- she had barely spoken since they lost the house. Bruno tried to speak again but Vinick merely sat up straight and spoke louder,

"I'll be a winner, or I'll be a loser! But I won't be a sore loser."

Silence fell once more. The clock ticked on. 5:43. Bruno stopped his pacing and leant on the back of the sofa.

"Senator," he said quietly, reserved. "If you win, you know the Democrats will challenge." Sheila ignored Bruno, and calmly put a hand on Vinick's shoulder.

"If you don't challenge," she said softly. "You will wake up one morning next wing, and you will regret this for the rest of your life."

Vinick merely continued to stare numbly at the television, uncaring. He wished they would leave him alone- this was his night, for better or worse and he would not challenge if he lost. He just prayed he wouldn't lose.

5:44. The announcer paused, listening into his headpiece. Everyone in the room unconsciously sat or stood up a little straighter.

"Well…" the reporter began. "We can now report that the result from Nevada is expected in any minute now." Vinick stood up, putting on his glasses. At his side, Sheila did the same. Bruno stopped pacing again. Jane's eyes hardened, her grip on the edge of the sofa tightening.

A heartbeat.

Another.

Beads of sweat dripped down Vinick's forehead. He squeezed both hands tightly together behind his back. Sheila had bitten her lip. Bruno was looking tense and unmoving. Bob was eating a packet of some sort of crisps. Jane was tapping her foot impatiently until with a harsh stare Bruno silenced her.

"Moment of truth…" whispered Sheila.

Another heartbeat.

Why weren't they announcing? Had something gone wrong? In Vinick's mind, the campaign replayed itself. He knew they should have spent more in Nevada. It was his fault they had gone into California, and that was clearly a mistake. Polling indicated that the San Andreo disaster has affected his number in Nevada, too- would this cause him to lose his one shot at the highest office in the land- no, the _world? _ God-dammit, why weren't they announcing? It was 5:45, and…

And….

The News Reporter was looking straight into the screen.

"We can now report that just moments ago, the state of Nevada has been called for…"

There was a second or two of delay, the reporter enjoying the suspense. As one, everyone in the room drew breath, staring raptly, unblinking. Vinick could not remember ever being so engrossed in the television before. He thought of his grandchildren. Wondered what he would say to his kids if he lost- he'd need to make a concession phone call of course. That would be hard. Would McGarry's death have affected things? Maybe he shouldn't have dropped Jane, Sheila was…

And then the waiting period was over, and the reporter was replaced with a picture of Nevada to one side and the vote tallies to the other beside each candidate.

51 to 49. He saw the figures at the exact same time as the voice of the reporter announced

"…Senator Arnold Vinick!"

And just like that, Vinick collapsed in his chair, a grin breaking out across his face. At the exact same moment, Bob let out a bellow of joy, and Sheila gave a great whoop before pressing both hands to her grinning mouth. Bruno did not make a sound but merely breathed out in relief, rubbing a hand across his chin. Even Jane let out a chuckle, shaking her head disbelievingly.

Mere seconds later, a roar erupted from the adjoining room. The door was flung open, and outside music was playing, people screaming and cheering in joy. Balloons were falling from the ceiling, champagne bottles broken out, banners falling from where they had been optimistically stored. Vinick still did not move, as though frozen in shock and joy, slumped in his chair, eyes fixed on the television screen.

_He had done it…_

"Senator!" Sheila called above the rising din. She stretched out a hand to him, a huge smile emblazoned on her face. After a moment, he took it and stood, chuckling. "We did it…" he laughed, the realization finally beginning to sink in. "My God, we did it!"

"_You_ did it." Corrected Sheila. "Congratulations, President-Elect." Hearing himself addressed with the title for the first time, Vinick just chuckled again.

"President-Elect Vinick, your adoring public awaits." Bruno said stiffly. He was trying to be his usual obnoxious self, but he couldn't, fighting to keep a huge smile from his face.

Overwhelmed by the news, Vinick walked into the main foyer outside his suite, his staff falling in line. The second he came into view, a simultaneous bellow erupted from the gathered staffers, all of whom raised their glasses to him.

_Good God… he had done it…_

"Thank you!" he shouted to make himself heard over the music. "Thank you all for… for everything, for all your work!" The smile did not falter, instead widening across his face. "Staff meetings, poll examining…. There's a lot of work ahead before we even start running the country! But that's tomorrow's problem. Tonight- tonight is _your_ night, all of you! Enjoy it!" More cheers erupted, and a glass of champagne was pressed into his hand. Before he could step further into the party, there was a tug on his sleeve. "It can wait, it can wait…" he said impatiently. But the tugging became more insistent.

"Senator…" His secretary Annie's voice said again. "I'm sorry, Mr President-Elect- it's Matt Santos on the line."

As if cued, a sudden silence fell across the party, leaving only the music booming in the background. Vinick turned, the smile gone, looking seriously at her. "…In my office?" She nodded to confirm.

"Yes, Mr…mr President-Elect…" She was clearly uncomfortable with the new title.

Immediately, he walked back into his office, beckoning Bruno, Bob and Sheila to come in with him. Jane made to follow but Bruno calmly closed the door in her face.

"Concession call?" Vinick asked, his voice skeptical and his eyebrows raised.

"They'll sue." Bruno said at once. "The margin was so close, they'll get every lawyer they have on it."

"They might…" agreed Sheila. "Or they might not. Santos might figure if he looks like a sore loser, he doesn't have a shot in 4 years."

"He _doesn't_ have a shot in four years…" Bruno rebutted. "I know Josh Lyman. There is no way Josh Lyman concedes this, not after a 51-49 on the deciding state."

Vinick raised a hand to quiet them, apprehensively approaching the phone. He mopped his brow and took a deep breath. _This is it…_

"Matt…" he said in an unconvincing attempt at warmth. He paused.

"Yes. Thank you. Yes, I understand. Okay, but I-… Okay…."

"C'mon, you son of a bitch…" Bruno murmured. "Congratulate him on the campaign…"

"Why?" asked Bob, looking from face to face.

"If he congratulates Santos, it means Santos conceded." Explained Sheila patiently.

"Wait…" Bruno turned to the others. "What was that? Did anyone catch what the Senator just said? I…"

Vinick had hung up the phone. He turned to face them, a grave expression on his face. "Well." He said slowly. "I guess that's that then." The three staff aides stood to attention. Vinick stood looking down at the receiver, lost in thought.

"…Mr President-Elect?" prompted Sheila.

Vinick looked up at her, a frown at his mouth.

"He called to congratulate me and concede the election." He said at last, and his expression twisted into a warm smile at the deception.

Sheila whooped again, Bruno shook his head slowly and Bob ecstatically threw open the doors, nearly hitting an indignant Jane.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our next president of these United States…. ARNOLD VINICK!"

And so ends part one! I intend to speed into the first term relatively quickly so look for Part Two to be Transition and Inaugration to be Three or Four. Next chapter I sort out who plays what role in the Vinick administration- and look for a few show regulars to stick around in the Whitehouse. I promise they'll _all_ be in the fiction in some form or another, this one was just Vinick-only out of necessity. I'll keep Jane around because it's fun to brutalize her. And of course, Leo's Funeral has to be attended by the new PotUS, and Jed and Vinick have their first face to face meeting since the election! Feedback ALWAYS much appreciated.

gg


End file.
